Plant Preview

Welcome to Plant Preview, a blog dedicated to helping gardeners learn about gardening techniques and preview new plant cultivars. Read about new plants here first and hear how your "comrades in compost" are making use of new plant introductions in their gardens and landscapes. Blog author Geri Laufer is a life-long dirt gardener, degreed horticulturist, author and former County Extension Agent. Plant Preview is copyrighted by Geri Laufer.

This week in metro-Atlanta, Crabapple LanscapEXPERTS suggest you pay attention to the weather forecasts! In meteorologist lingo, “the Jet Stream is blasting south, bringing frigid air masses from polar regions” and this is called an “advective freeze". We know that windy cold with a sudden plunge in temperatures, sometimes prolonged over several days, makes plant protection difficult. Remember, healthy, hardy landscape plants on the properties you manage will be unaffected by this cold snap.

How To Best Protect Landscape Plants

Tip 1. Add mulchto protect newly planted roots. Apply organic mulch anytime to insulate shallow roots by reducing temperature fluctuations. Most woody ornamentals and perennials are root hardy, so use a layer of mulch to protect the crown and the root zone despite the fact that foliage may die back to ground level.Evergreens and newly transplanted plants especially benefit from a thick layer of mulch around their bases insulating the soil and allowing them to take up moisture despite periods of cold weather and avoid dehydration.Don't let "mulch volcanoes" touch the trunks though.

Tip 2. Drape burlap, canvas, old quilts or sheets, large cardboard boxes, or floating row cover fabric over plants for the duration of the coldest temperatures for three reasons:

a. to slow wind movement;

b. to protect from frost; and

c. to shade from early morning sunshine- devastating to frozen leaves

NEVER use plastic to cover plants; not clear plastic, not black plastic, and not white plastic. Plastic traps solar radiation and causes a buildup of moisture underneath. If plastic is not removed at dawn (and who is going to do that?) the sun’s rays cause heat build-up and frozen plant tissue bake inside the tent.

Tip 3. Use windbreaks like fences, walls, tree canopies or the sides of buildings to protect container plants that can’t come inside. Coverings include frost cloth, sheets and quilts, plastic, cardboard panels or large cardboard boxes, and lean-tos propped against the wall.

Tip 4. Consider building a quick-frame (cold frame) to provide additional protection for favorite or newly transplanted ornamentals. Drive stakes into the ground around the plant(s) then drape canvas over the stakes, making sure it reaches to the ground. This provides air flow and ensures the cover does not have direct contact with the leaves, since touching can injure the foliage.

Tip 5. Water the soil ahead of the freeze or when there is a slight break in the freezing temperatures to maintain soil moisture, but do not over water. Watering melts frozen soil or container potting mixes and lets plants become re-hydrated.

7 Tip 6. Home gardeners: DO NOT try to use water as cold protection! Commercial agricultural enterprises sometimes use water from a sprinkler system to coat strawberries or citrus fruits. The idea is to keep the leaf surface temperatures near 32°F (0°C) because sprinkling utilizes latent heat released when water changes from a liquid to a solid state. But sprinkling must begin as freezing temperatures are reached and continue until thawing is completed. Water must be evenly distributed and supplied in ample quantity to maintain a film of liquid water on the foliage surfaces, possibly for days.

Although commercial farms uses sprinkling for cold protection, residential sprinkler systems do not have the flow volume to protect plants this way. Too much water can cause disease, plus the sprinkler itself can freeze up. As a result, cold damage to plants from inadequate amounts of irrigation water may worse than if nothing was done at all.

Tip 7. Move container plants to a shaded location to avoid morning sun hitting them. Lift pots and containers and place on lumber or 'pot feet' to prevent waterlogging. Insulate above-ground pots with a layer of bubble wrap or hessian to prevent them freezing and cracking and ensure plant rootballs stay healthy.

The Last 3 Tips are for those of us guilty of stretching the Climate Zone envelope. These plants shouldn't actually survive, but just maybe . . .

Tip 8. Blankets do not provide “warmth” unless an incandescent light bulb or a string of Christmas lights is added inside the covering. Choose extension cords labeled for outdoor use. (New LED lights won’t add heat.) This is sometimes used as a temporary measure for a day or two.

Tip 9. Happen to have a cool greenhouse handy? Lucky! Tender plants grown in pots can be moved inside during bad weather. Or take cuttings of those that cannot be grown in pots and overwinter these in a warm greenhouse or on a windowsill, ready for planting in spring.

Without a greenhouse, move hardy container plants under a protective roof like a deck or porch, and group them together to increase their protection. Move tropicals indoors overnight to avoid temperatures below 35 degrees F. then cart them outside again for the sunny days.

Tip 10. Cover is especially beneficial for borderline tender plants that the gardener just had to give a try. The ever-increasing number of tender plants available may not withstand sustained cold without some form of protection. Hardy Tropicals may fit this description. Recent transplants are good candidates for protection, because they may not had enough time to establish strong root systems.

Crabapple LandscapExperts know that well-cared for, hardy landscape plants will not need any protection at all! Call your Crabapple Rep with any questions at 770-740-9739!

Monday, November 4, 2013

Here's a shocking recommendation that makes quite an impression on Crabapple's customers: "Plant acorns on 40 foot centers." This graphically contrasts the size of a small seed or seedling plant with the depth and breadth of a mature oak.

When a shade tree is planted, it is for future generations to enjoy. Most people like trees and relate to them on a personal level, so here are some reasons to plant a tree this fall-- and when you think of some more, go ahead and add them in the comment section!

lumber, plywood, veneer and other wood products on a sustained yield basis.

10. Trees alleviate the “Greenhouse Effect” by absorbing carbon. A single tree absorbs about 13 pounds of CO2 per year, and one acre of new forest sequesters around 2.5 tons of carbon annually. Planting 100 million trees in the U.S. would reduce the amount of carbon by an estimated 18 million tons per year.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Lily is sunbathing today, March 8, 2013 in the 63 degree F sunshine (17 degree C). Our backyard was formerly a "privet lawn." The former owner created this oxymoron by mowing common privet to 3-4 inches tall, with large root systems. We have been smothering, solarizing and digging it up within the 40 x 80 foot area adjacent to the house and surrounded by an existing 4 foot chain link fence (thus the plywood and woodchips). We have not begun the grading, low retaining walls, refencing or landscaping, but we did receive the Survey this week with 2 foot topo lines, large trees, residence, driveway, dry creekbed, etc. just this week. Next is the landscape master plan.

The second photo shows the newly-surveyed way-back of our property outside the chainlink fence with the former "privet lawn". Trees are festooned with a jungle of Hedera helix, and Ligustrum sinensis, brambles, thorny wild roses, poison ivy and a mis-shapen native dogwood or two must be selectively removed (retaining some pines and hardwoods that actually have branches and were not smothered.

October 2012

July 2012

The front (above) looked like that 17 months ago, shown here last October covered with pink daisy mums planted among the blueberries, native azaleas, gardenias and camellias. It's a good thing I love it.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

This January 2013 so far it has rained 14 out of 17 days with an accumulation of 3.5 inches in Atlanta U.S.D.A Zone 8A, and the assortment of flowers blooming in my garden this month (all at once) is -- odd. Both summer flowers and winter ones are blooming at the same time. Above is a hybrid tea rose 'Strike it Rich' with a fat bud that developed this month!

I have Coral 'Showboat' Storybook Roses blooming continuously since last March with healthy green leaves sans black spot.

My Jack in the Pulpit is already sprouting - both a 3-lobed leaf and Jack. I'll have to cover him if we really do get wet snow tonight.

My Toad Lily Trycirtus has popped up way too soon also.

A Rudbeckia triloba I got as a tiny plug this past Spring is still in bloom, although I expected it to stop in October or November.

Perhaps the oddest of all is the Fern Leaf Lavender that I started from seed last Spring. It started to bloom in September or October and hasn't stopped.

Salad Burnet is not in bloom but is full and beautiful, while the foxgloves behind it are throwing up flower spikes - reaching about 18 inches so far.

Other flowers are expected to be in bloom this time of year, such as Camellia japonica Debutante,

Camellia 'High Fragrance, '

Camellia 'Magnolilaflora' looks like a lady's hat to me

,

Camellia sasanqua Setsugekka.

-->

Likewise 'Jacob' is another of the new hybrid Hellebores that is in bloom.

Daphne odora is beginning to open .

I am tickled to see, after more than a decade and planting in three different gardens trying to get this one to bloom, that my Algerian Iris, Iris unguicularis, is finally planted in just the right spot and is blooming in January.

My little 'Rosebud' Japanese Flowering Apricot Prunus mume is blooming on old wood and I'm delighted I found it at Garden*Hood Nursery last January.

There are lots more, but you get the drift! What is blooming in your garden now?

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

This year I am making resolutions for my new garden. On a 104 degree F. day in July 2011 we moved to our new home and blank-slate-garden in Atlanta. Next came 3 months of bush-hogging, English ivy-ripping and path-designing, and then the parade of planting began. This means that nothing in my garden has been planted there for more than 18 months, the compost bin is new, and I am propagating large quantities of things such as hellebores, parsley and foxgloves to fill in. Most of my woody ornamentals are knee-high, except for a number of native azaleas I brought from the old garden in large tubs. .

In 2013 I resolve to finish my first compost from the new compost bin, use it on the plants, and start again.

I plan to extravagantly sow about 2 decades of carefully hoarded, alphabetized, left-over seed and USE THEM UP.

This year I intend to install a cold frame, soil heating mat, temperature controller and automatic sash openers to promote better rooting.

Each fall my goal is to plant 1,000 (or more) spring flowering bulbs, including some I have never tried before. For the last 2 years I have succeeded in this goal.

Moonlight Blue seeds from Jelittto

I hope to start another 10 dozen hellebores, 10 dozen parsley and 10 dozen (this year trying Apricot) foxgloves in order to plant them out in my pine woodland this coming fall. Likewise, I have ordered seed for big blue NZ delphiniums $$$$ and hope to do the same with those (treating them as cool season biennials in Hotlanta). Fingers crossed that that last idea works!

I plan to keep planting particularly large-flowered camellias.

I resolve to concentrate on fragrant plants.

I plan to take millions of cuttings of my pink and my yellow daisy mums now that there are enough to share.

I am increasing my use of biological inoculants to promote healthy growth through mycorrhizal fungus and beneficial bacteria in association with plant roots.

I hope to grow Armenian, Syrian and pickling cucumbers this year.

Asian Persimmons on \dwarf tree

I resolve to try a couple of dwarf Asian Persimmons (Ichi by Stark Brothers).

I resolve to keep a garden journal again to help with year-to-year comparisons, and thus have ordered a 5-year hardbound book to use.

And I resolve to get at least one little child gardening. What are your resolutions?

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Cider Mulls and Wine Mulls lend a festive atmosphere to holiday gatherings. Directions: Pour a quart of cider or a bottle of light red wine into a saucepan, add the Mulling spices attractively packaged in a Satsuma shell, and simmer gently for 15 minutes or so, until the house smells wonderful and the beverage tastes good!